Roussillon, FRANCE

The vineyards of Roussillon are ancient, their origins lost in history; various sources credit the Greeks, the Romans and even Hannibal and his warrior elephants with the introduction and subsequent development of viticulture in the region. Whichever ancient traveller was responsible, over the centuries that have passed since their time viticulture has come to be the dominant agricultural activity in Roussillon.

The wines produced in Roussillon are no less diverse than its soils, and there are few epicurean pleasures more more appealing to the eye than an array of vins du Roussillon. The colours span the vinous spectrum, from pale dry Muscat through the ambers and golds of Rivesaltes, to the red wines of Cotes du Roussillon and Collioure, to the inky dark wines of Maury. There are only seven appellations, some with just a handful of domaines, producing this fine assortment of wines, a feature which makes Roussillon's newly apparent
and quite increasingly tangible identity all the more impressive.